Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The following words and terms, when used
in this section, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise.
(1) Public health
emergency--A state of disaster or local disaster declared under Texas
Government Code Chapter 418 or a public health disaster as defined by Texas
Health and Safety Code (HSC) §81.003.
(2) Qualifying official disaster order--An
order, proclamation, or other instrument issued by the Governor, another
official of this state, or the governing body or an official of a political
subdivision of this state declaring a disaster that has infectious disease as
the basis for the declared disaster.
(3) Qualifying period of disaster--The period
of time the area in which a hospital is located is declared to be a disaster
area by a qualifying official disaster order.
(4) Religious counselor--An individual acting
substantially in a pastoral or religious capacity to provide spiritual counsel
to other individuals.
(b) In accordance with HSC §260C.002
(relating to In-Person Visitation with Religious Counselor), except as provided
by subsections (c) and (d) of this section, a hospital may not prohibit a
patient from receiving in-person visitation with a religious counselor during a
public health emergency upon the request of the patient or, if the patient is
incapacitated, upon the request of the patient's legally authorized
representative, including a family member of the patient.
(c) A hospital may prohibit in-person
visitation with a religious counselor during a public health emergency if
federal law or a federal agency requires the hospital to prohibit in-person
visitation during that period.
(d)
To the extent that hospital establishes policies and procedures for in-person
religious counselor visitation during a public health emergency, these policies
and procedures shall comply with the following:
(1) The policies and procedures shall
establish minimum health and safety requirements for in-person visitation with
religious counselors consistent with:
(A)
state, local, and federal directives and guidance regarding the public health
emergency;
(B) public health
emergency and disaster preparedness plans; and
(C) other policies adopted by the hospital,
including the hospital's general visitation policy and infection control
policy.
(2) The policies
and procedures shall address considerations for patients who are receiving
end-of-life care.
(3) The policies
and procedures may contain reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on
in-person visitation with religious counselors to mitigate the spread of a
communicable disease or address a patient's medical condition.
(4) The policies and procedures may condition
in-person visitation with religious counselors on the counselor's compliance
with guidelines, policies, and procedures established under this
subsection.
(e) In
accordance with HSC §241.012 (relating to In-Person Hospital Visitation
During Period of Disaster), a hospital may not, during a qualifying period of
disaster, prohibit in-person visitation with a patient receiving care or
treatment at the hospital, unless federal law or a federal agency requires the
hospital to prohibit in-person visitation during that period.
(f) Notwithstanding subsection (e) of this
section, a hospital may, during a qualifying period of disaster:
(1) restrict the number of visitors a patient
receiving care or treatment at the hospital may receive to not fewer than one,
except for religious counselors visiting under subsection (b) of this
section;
(2) require a visitor,
including a religious counselor visiting under subsection (b) of this section,
to:
(A) complete a health screening before
entering the hospital; and
(B) wear
personal protective equipment at all times while visiting a patient at the
hospital; and
(3) deny
entry to or remove from the hospital's premises a visitor, including a
religious counselor visiting under subsection (b) of this section, who fails or
refuses to:
(A) submit to or meet the
requirements of a health screening administered by the hospital; or
(B) wear personal protective equipment that
meets the hospital's infection control and safety requirements in the manner
prescribed by the hospital.
(g) A health screening administered by a
hospital under this section must be conducted in a manner that, at a minimum,
complies with:
(1) hospital policy;
and
(2) if applicable, guidance or
directives issued by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or another agency with regulatory
authority over the hospital.
(h) This section does not require a hospital
to:
(1) provide a specific type of personal
protective equipment to a visitor, including a religious counselor visiting
under subsection (b) of this section; or
(2) except for a religious counselor visiting
under subsection (b) of this section, allow in-person visitation with a patient
receiving care or treatment at the hospital if an attending physician
determines and documents in the patient's medical record that in-person
visitation with that patient may lead to the transmission of an infectious
agent that poses a serious community health risk.
(i) A determination made by an attending
physician under subsection (h) of this section is valid for not more than five
days after the date the determination is made unless renewed by an attending
physician.
(j) If a visitor to a
hospital is denied in-person visitation with a patient receiving care or
treatment at a hospital because of a determination made by an attending
physician under subsection (h) of this section, the hospital shall:
(1) provide each day a written or oral update
of the patient's condition to the visitor if the visitor:
(A) is authorized by the patient to receive
relevant health information regarding the patient;
(B) has authority to receive the patient's
health information under an advance directive or medical power of attorney;
or
(C) is otherwise the patient's
surrogate decision-maker regarding the patient's health care needs under
hospital policy and other applicable law; and
(2) notify the person who receives the daily
update required under paragraph (1) of this subsection of the estimated date
and time at which the patient will be discharged from the hospital.
